Lack of experience, rough conditions cause of fatal boat accident

An inexperienced boat driver plus bad conditions caused a 22-foot boat to capsize in Lake Tahoe last week, killing two people and injuring seven others, an investigator said.

An official with the Nevada Division of Wildlife, the agency handling the investigation into the accident off Cave Rock, said a rope found wrapped around the boat’s propeller was not a factor in the boat turning over.

The accident killed a south Bay area man who was likely driving the boat. His wife’s body has not been found.

“He was an inexperienced operator, and he got caught in adverse conditions,” said Fred Messmann, NDOW boating law administrator. “Someone else operating that boat may have done just fine.”

The investigation is not complete, and the cause of the accident is preliminary.